MARYVILLE – Averett shot 61 percent from the floor and made all 25 free throw attempts in escaping Cooper Athletic Center with an 85-79 victory over Maryville here Saturday.
The loss ended Maryville's 14-game winning streak and 15-game home winning streak. The Scots still lead the all-time series 22-6.
The Cougars led 44-32 at halftime after going 15-of-23 from the floor and 11-of-11 at the line. They cooled just a bit to 13-of-23 in the second half but made all 14 free throws to fight off a late Maryville charge.
The Scots trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and were still down 66-54 with 7:06 remaining. But
Jackson Garner scored five points, Chases Morgan four,
Reed Kemp three and
Jaylon Green two to spark a 14-4 run that narrowed the gap to 70-68 with 4:10 showing.
With the score 72-70 Cougars and the clock ticking under 3 minutes, Green drove the length of the floor for a potential tying layup only to have Mason Mitchell make the block. To claim the decision, Averett ended the game on an 11-7 run.
Kemp led all scorers with 26 points, Morgan scored 23 and Garner 15. Green scored eight points and had a career-high five steals. Maryville finished with a 23-11 advantage in points-off-turnovers. Averett countered with a 35-22 rebounding margin.
Jamison Graves paced Averett with 22 points, while Davion Bowens contributed 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Scots are back in action Wednesday at home against Sewanee in a 7 p.m. tip.
